…in brief

The Home Office has withdrawn plans to change the system for overseas
executives who want to extend work permits or apply for residency (News, 4
September). After pressure from the Immigration Law Practitioners Association
and Personnel Today, the Home Office will suspend any changes until a better
system is developed.

Generation X aim high

Three-quarters of HR professionals claim that Generation X staff have
different expectations for their working lives to older employees. Research by
law firm Charles Russell released today shows that half of those who noticed a
difference claimed staff are particularly looking for a better work-life
balance. Over 100 HR professionals of FTSE 500 companies were surveyed.www.charlesrussell.co.uk

Benefits hide jobless

The UK’s low unemployment rate could be much higher if the large number of
unemployed claiming sickness benefit instead of unemployment benefit was added
to the total. A study by David Webster, a former labour economist at the London
School of Economics, shows that up to 7 per cent of Britain’s workforce is
economically inactive because of long-term sickness.www.the-ba.net

Change angers CBI

Employers’ body the CBI is unhappy with reports that the Government is
backing away from plans to charge staff for applying to employment tribunals.
The initiative was one of a number of DTI proposals announced last month to
tackle the steady increase in the number of employment tribunals.www.cbi.org.uk

HR network launch

A network for those involved in strategic HR has been launched by Roffey Park,
aimed at building effective organisations. The Strategic Human Resources
Network will provide a forum for members to network both virtually and
face-to-face, as well as learn from colleagues in leading-edge HR.